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Ohio State recruiting: State Secrets, 4/14 - Visits, Trevor Thompson commits, Chris Clark decommits from North Carolina

Ohio State had plenty of recruits on campus Friday and Saturday, plus Thad Matta landed another big man. Get all the latest Buckeye recruiting news from over the weekend.

By Charles Doss

All spring long, Urban Meyer and company have been hard at work trying to not just get the Bucks ready for the upcoming season, but also in recruiting. In the last month alone, OSU has hosted many talented prospects, and that certainly didn't change over the weekend.

On Friday, Meyer and staff had class of 2015 standouts Sterling Jenkins, Chandler Cox and 2016 offensive lineman Michal Menet on campus. Jenkins, a name that most Buckeye fans are well aware of by now, returned to Columbus to check out OSU before heading back to Pennsylvania to attend the spring game over at Penn State.

Recently naming the Bucks and Nittany Lions as his top two over a long list of scholarship offers, Sterling, a 6'8 300-pound offensive tackle, surprised some by not giving a pledge to his home state squad on Saturday, who many believe are the team to beat for his commitment.

Cox, a jack of all trades for Apopka High School down in Florida, visited OSU on Friday before heading to the campuses of Tennessee, Kentucky and Vanderbilt over the weekend.

"I got to see all the facilities. The weight room, training room, practice field, locker room, and I got to try on the gloves and jersey." Cox told Land-Grant Holy Land soon after his trip ended.

With offers from OSU, Tennessee, Kentucky, Florida, Florida State, Miami and Nebraska, where his friend, and former teammate, OSU target Zack Darlington signed, Cox has a hard decision to make when he finally decides to end his recruitment.

For more on Chandler and his visit, take a look at the full report here.

One of the top class of 2016 lineman in the country, Menet, made the trip from Reading, Pennsylvania to tour the OSU campus and facilities before making visits to Notre Dame (Saturday) and Michigan State (Sunday).

While at Ohio State, the 6'5 250-pounder received an offer from the Buckeyes, adding them to a list that currently consists of Michigan State, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Temple and Virginia.

Playing both ways at Exeter high last season, Michal helped block the Eagles rushing attack to nearly 3,000 yards. On defense, the talented sophomore racked up over 70 total tackles and 11.5 sacks in leading his squad to an overall record of 9-3.

To see why so many programs are after Menet, check out his highlights below:

Spring game brings out recruits:

Over 60,000 fans took advantage of the nice weather to watch the Ohio State spring game on Saturday. Buckeye Nation weren't the only ones in Ohio Stadium watching, as quite a few future Buckeyes and recruits made the trip as well.

Top targets Damien Harris, Sh'mar Kilby-Lane, James Daniels and Dre'Mont Jones might have headlined the list, but weren't the only highly touted class of 2015 prospects walking the sidelines Saturday afternoon.

After watching OSU practice earlier this month, Olentangy Liberty offensive lineman Hunter Littlejohn once again made the short round trip to the Ohio State campus.

"I thought it was great how many fans showed up for the spring game." Littlejohn told Land-Grant Holy Land. "You don't see that at many other places." He added.

While at the game, Littlejohn, a three-star prospect with offers from programs such as Indiana, Illinois, Duke, Purdue and Cincinnati, had a few moments to catch back up with Buckeye offensive line coach Ed Warinner, who told the 6'5 270-pound standout that he was glad to see him again and that he will be back in touch soon.

Massillon Washington standout Reggie Rogers, a key target for 2017 commit Danny Clark, also watched the game Saturday and walked away impressed with a few things.

"I thought it was great to see players I watched in high school playing in the crazy atmosphere that Ohio State has every time I go there."

Like Littlejohn did, Rogers had the chance to speak with a Buckeye assistant while on campus for the spring game.

"I spoke with the wide receiver coach (Zach Smith) and they want me to come to Friday Night Lights and put on a show for an offer before the season." The 6'0 180-pound Rogers told Land-Grant Holy Land of his interaction with Smith.

Already with offers from Kentucky, Cincinnati and Toledo, it would mean a lot to Reggie, a life long OSU fan, to add one from the Buckeyes to his list this summer.

"I plan on it. I would love to get a offer from Ohio State. It would mean a lot to me being from Ohio and watching Ohio State growing up," Rogers stated.

2015 wasn't the only class well represented in Columbus on Saturday. Many of the top local 2016 and 2017 recruits were also in attendance, such as Rogers' teammate and future Buckeye Danny Clark, Todd Sibley (Akron/Hoban), Jonathan Cooper Gahanna/Lincoln), and Richard LeCounte (Hinesville, GA/Liberty County) to name a few of the many.

Clark reopens process:

Last month class of 2015 tight end Chris Clark shocked most of the recruiting scene when he gave North Carolina his verbal commitment during a visit. On Saturday evening, the four-star prospect did something a little less surprising, as he announced on his Twitter page that he is no longer a pledge to the Tar Heels:

Arguably the top tight end in the country, Clark will be in Columbus this upcoming weekend for the first time. A big target at 6'6 and 250 pounds, Chris hauled in 39 passes for 417 yards and six touchdowns as a junior for Avon Old Farms (CT) last season.

We will have more on both Clark and his upcoming visit this week.

Matta adds transfer:

After recently adding former Temple standout Anthony Lee to the roster, Thad Matta has once again received the commitment of one of top transfers on the market.

Trevor Thompson, who averaged nearly five points and five rebounds a contest as a freshman at Virginia Tech last season, decided to call Columbus his future home on Sunday after officially visiting OSU over the weekend.

Unlike Lee, who is a graduate transfer, Thompson will more than likely watch from the sidelines next season, sitting out due to NCAA undergraduate transfer rules. There is a small chance the 6'11 220-pound Indianapolis native could see the court sooner than expected, as he is considering putting in a hardship waiver due to needing to be closer to his father (former Major League Baseball player Ryan Thompson), who has chronic neck problems and will go through surgery soon.

No matter when he suits up for Matta and the Buckeyes, the long and athletic Thompson will have three years of eligibility left and will add another more than capable player down low for an OSU team that has lacked major depth in the post over the last couple seasons.

Quick Hits:

  • The Buckeyes had three targets commit elsewhere over the weekend. Defensive end Scott Patchan and running back Dexter Williams decided to stay in Florida and picked Miami, while defensive tackle Adam McLean gave James Franklin and Penn State his verbal.
  • Before hosting Chris Clark, Ricky DeBerry, Brandon Wimbush and others later this week, Urban Meyer and staff will have class of 2015 defensive tackle Elijah Taylor on campus for a visit on Thursday. Taylor, a 6'3 275-pound terror on the line for powerhouse Cincinnati Moeller, checked out Notre Dame on Saturday, one of main programs the Buckeyes find themselves up against in trying to add him to their roster.
  • Class of 2015 shooting guard Franklin Howard will pick between the Buckeyes, Georgetown, Syracuse, Maryland, North Carolina State, and Virginia this evening. The four-star slasher visited OSU back in November, but will probably play his college ball on the East Coast, with many believing Syracuse has the inside track.

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